Protector for reeds on musical instruments



April 4, 1950 F. T. COSTELLO 2 502558 PROTECTOR FOR REEDS ON MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Oct. 14, 1948 is 14 42 44 V 38 FIG. 3 50 INVENTOR FRANK T. COSTELLO ATT'YS :clarinets. which taper to a thin edge at the tip of the Patented Apr. 4, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PROTECTOR FOR REEDS ON MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Frank T. Costello, South Boston, Mass. Application October 14, 1948, Serial No. 54,436

4 Claims. (01. s4-3s3) This invention relates to a protector or uard member for preventing accidental injury to reeds on musical instruments such as saxophones and Instruments of this kind have reeds mouthpiece. When the instrument is not being played, this thin edge is exposed and is liable to injury by contact with other objects. In order to avoid such contact, instruments of this kind are commonly supplied with a removable tubular guard into which the mouthpiece can be thrust to protect the reed. This guard is a separate article and is apt to be mislaid. When wanted, it

must be found and brought to the mouthpiece which it is to protect. To overcome this objection, guards of various descriptions have been mounted on the. mouthpiece, but these have generally been objectionable for one reason or another.

An object of the present invention is to provide ltion by a spring detent which yields to a predetermined force on the guard to release it, whereupon a spring swings the guard to an idle posi tion where it is out of the way but is readily available to be swung back to and retained in its operative position.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description thereof and to the drawing, of which Figure 1 is a side view of a mouthpiece on which is mounted a guard embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the same;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the mouthpiece on the line 44 of Figure 3, the guard being shown in an intermediate position between its operative and idle positions.

The mouthpiece embodying the invention comprises a member ID in the shape of a shallow spoon having a flat portion 12 adapted to cover and protect the reed of the mouthpiece, the protector having also an end flange l4 and side flanges l6 and I8.

A conventional mouthpiece 20 is illustrated,

the thick portion of the reed 24. screw 36 passes freely through one of the lugs 34 and is in screw-threaded engagement with the this mouthpiece having a tapered portion 22 against which the lips of the musician rest. A .reed 24 is clamped against the body of the mouthpiece, this reed having a free portion 26 extending across the opening in the end of the mouthpiece and tapering to a thin end edge so as to vibrate when the instrument is played. The reed is clamped in place by means of a ligature consisting of a wide band 30 of metal to the ends of which are secured upstanding lugs 32 and 34 respectively, two such lugs being mounted at each end of the metal band. Two thumb screws 36 and 38 are provided to draw the ends of the band together so as to clamp the band tightly against Each thumb corresponding lug 32.

The protector H), according to the present invention, is hinged to the thumb screw 36, the protector being provided with a pair of ears 49 having holes therein to receive the screw 36. Hence,

the protector can be swung from its operative position shown in Figure 1 to an idle or out-ofthe-way position, shown in broken lines in Figure 1.

1 Spring means are provided tending to swing the protector [0 to its idle position. As shown in Figure 3, the spring means may consist of a spring wire 42, one end of which is bent around the thumb screw 38, as at M. The wire 42 is coiled around the screw 36, as at 46, and thence extends to a point on the protector in forward of the screw 36. For convenience, a rivet 48 is secured to the protector at a point between the two thumb screws, and the wire 42 is fastened to the rivet 48. The wire 42 is under tension such that the protector! is pressed toward the idle position indicated in Figure 1. Detent means are provided to hold the protector releasably in its protecting position.

As illustrated in Figure 3, such means may conveniently comprise an extension 5!] of the spring wire 42 which projects beyond the rivet 48 and is bent into a loop, as indicated in Figure 4. The end 52 of this loop is curved so as to snap over the lugs 32 and 34 through which the screw 38 extends. The bent end 52 thus catches on these lugs and retains the protector in its protecting position in spite of the pressure of the spring 42. When the musician desires to play the instrument, a light push by his thumb against one of the side flanges of the protector will overcome the holding force of the loop 50 so that the protector is released and is thereupon swung to its idle position by the spring. As soon as the musician stops playing on the instrument, even for a brief period, the protector can easily and quickly be swung by pressure of a thumb to its protective position Where it is held by the detent until dislodged therefrom as before. Thus, the protector is always available for use and can be moved to and from its protective position by simple movement of a thumb of the musician without shifting his hands from the positions they occupy when the instrument is being played.

This arrangement by which the musician can move the protector to or from its protecting position by a flick of the thumb encourages full use of the protector, and the manipulation of the protector soon comes to be almost automatic, as the habit of using it is easilyformed, thus greatly reducing the possibility of accidental contact of the reed with other objects. Such contact usually results in injury to the delicate reed.

Various modifications and changes may be made by one skilled in the art in the particular embodiment of the invention herein shown and described without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A reed protector for a mouthpiece, comprising a rigid member rockably mounted on the mouthpiece and rockable between a protective position covering the free end portion of the reed and an idle position remote from said free end, spring means tending to rock said member from its protective position to its idle position, and detent means effective when said member is in its protective position to hold the member re- 1.

leasably in said position against the force of, said spring means until the member is dislodged from said protective position by an additional force of predetermined magnitude.

2. A reed protector for a mouthpiece having a reed clamped in place by a ligature with thumb in place, said protector comprising a rigid member hinged at one end to a, part of said ligature to rock between a protective position covering the free end portion of the reed and an idle position remote from said free end, and a spring element mounted on said member, a portion of said spring element engaging said ligature under tension to press said member constantly toward its idle position from any other position, said spring element having another portion yieldingly engaging said ligature when the member is in its protective position to hold said member releasably in said protective position.

4. A reed protector for a mouthpiece having a reed clamped inv place by a ligature which consists .of a metal band encircling the mouthpiece and two thumb screws connecting the ends of the metal band, said protector comprising a rigid member having cars at one end with holes through which one of said thumb screws extends, whereby said member is rockable about said thumb screw between a protective position and an idle position, said member having a flange extending along its other end. and adjacent portions of the side edges to cover the free portion of said reed when the member is in its protective position, and a spring wire secured at an intermediate point thereof to said rigid member, one portion of said wire extending to a part of said ligature and being under tension to press said member toward its .idle position, the other por tion of said wire extending to snap over another portion of the ligature when the member is in its protective position, whereby said member is releasably held in its protective position.

FRANK T. COSTELLO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,016,055 Winquist Jan. 30, 1912 1,495,322 Greene .r May 27, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 22 Great Britain Jan. 1, 1878 54,389 Great Britain Apr. 29, 1890 423,717 France Oct. 26, 1910 796,217 France Oct. 11, 1935 

